Thursday, January 31, 2008

To paraphrase the late 20th-century poet Ice Cube, "come on and check yo self before you wreck yo self."

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Daniel Thompson, who formerly operated Clean Flix, a business in Orem, Utah, that edited feature films to remove or alter conduct deemed inappropriate for children or discriminating movie viewers, was recently arrested on suspicion of having sex with two 14-year old girls. The Clean Flix store closed in December after threats of legal action from Hollywood studios. Now, it seems he'll have other legal action on his hands.

When the girls arrived at the Flix Club, 908 S. State St., Thompson accompanied them to the back of the store and asked if they were of legal age. The teens said they were 18, performed oral sex on Thompson and left the store with [Isaac] Lifferth, who paid them a total of $20 for the deed, the documents state.

Police said the scheme was exposed when one of the girls' mothers found a $20 bill and asked where she got the money.

Thompson and Lifferth were booked into the Utah County jail on suspicion of sexual abuse and unlawful sex with a 14-year-old. Lifferth also admitted to having sex with the teenagers' 16-year-old friend on multiple occasions, according to the documents. [...]

The booking documents state Thompson told the 14-year-olds that his film sanitizing business was a cover for a pornography studio. He asked the girls if they would participate in making a porn movie, but they refused, the documents state.

Police found a "large quantity" of pornographic movies inside the business, along with a keg of beer, painkillers and two cameras hooked up to a television. Thompson told police he didn't know the teenagers were under 18 or that they were paid for sex. He said pornography found at the business was for "personal use," according to the documents.